offense
Loading your saved state.
offense
In sports, especially in American team sports such as American football or basketball, the attacking part of a team whose goal is to score points. The opposite is the defense.
Die Offense des Teams war heute extrem stark und erzielte mehrere Touchdowns.
The team's offense was extremely strong today and scored several touchdowns.
Although 'Offense' comes from English, in German it only has the sports meaning 'Angriff' (offense/attack). The English meanings 'insult' or 'crime' are translated in German as 'Beleidigung' or 'Straftat'.
Die Offense der Gastmannschaft konnte kein einziges Tor erzielen.
The visiting team's offense could not score a single goal.
The word 'Offense' is used almost exclusively in the context of American team sports such as American football or basketball. In German soccer, people usually say 'Angriff' (attack) or 'Sturm' (forward line) instead.
Der neue Spieler soll die Offense des Basketballteams verstärken.
The new player is supposed to strengthen the basketball team's offense.
Common combinations are 'in der Offense spielen' (to play on offense), 'eine starke/schwache Offense haben' (to have a strong/weak offense), or 'die Offense des Gegners stoppen' (to stop the opponent's offense).
Unser Team hat eine sehr gute Offense, aber die Verteidigung ist schwach.
Our team has a very good offense, but the defense is weak.
attack
'der Angriff' and 'die Offense' can both mean the part of a game in sports where a team wants to score points or a goal. They can be confused because both are close to the opposite of defense. 'Der Angriff' is the normal German word and fits many sports, for example soccer or handball. 'Die Offense' is used mainly in American sports such as American football or basketball. There it often also means the attacking part of the team. In sports in general, 'Angriff' sounds more natural; in football or basketball, 'Offense' can be very appropriate.
Die Offense machte im letzten Viertel noch zwei wichtige Punkte.
The offense scored two more important points in the last quarter.
Im zweiten Durchgang spielte der Angriff der Mannschaft viel schneller.
In the second half, the team's attack played much faster.